Rats! Not Enough Grapes

Prologue

One of California's top Zinfandel producers is Kent
Rosenblum. His success is due partly to scouting
out old Zin vines growing in hillside
vineyards in the North Coast.

...Norm Roby, Charles Sullivan

Rats!

Kent found a good one... a rare clone of Zinfandel...
old vines growing on a hillside high
above Lake Sonoma. The small tract was fenced
with rocks brought up from the valley floor,
hence the name Rockpile Vineyard. The fruit
made great wine, but there wasn't enough to
bottle it alone. So, sadly, it had to be blended
into Rosenblum Sonoma Old Vine Zinfandel.

But Wait!

In 1996 circumstances changed. Kent managed
to get enough of the grape's to produce his first
Rockpile release. I put a bottle in my cellar
and then quietly slipped it into the last tasting,
figuring that Kent would not have gone to all the
trouble of making a new vineyard-designated Zin unless
he knew it was good. Sure enough. My band of
tasters gave it a rare rating of EXCELLENT.

The third release, the 1998, is still available
when I last checked. To learn what a great
winemaker can do with great Zin grapes,
order the Rosenblum Rockpile for $19 at:
Ph. (510)865-7007, FX (510)865-9225, www.RosenblumCellars.com

Postscript—Meanwhile, Back in New England

Why are we writing about a Zinfandel on June 13th?
It's an important date for the grape in America.
On June 13, 1848, one day before the Bear Flag of
independence was raised in Sonoma, the Massachusetts
Horticultural Society saw a curiosity displayed
by one J. Fiske Allen of Salem...a grapevine
called "ZINFINDAL." Two years later another member of
the Society, Capt F.W. Macondray, had gone west and was
growing it at the corner of Stockton and Washington
streets in what is now downtown San Francisco...one of
the first documented arrivals of Zinfandel in the state
where it would achieve its fame.

Fred McMillin, a veteran wine writer, has taught wine history
for 30 years on three continents. He currently teaches wine
courses at San Francisco State and San Francisco City College.
In 1995, the Academy of Wine Communications honored Fred
with one of only 22 Certificates of Commendation awarded
to American wine writers.